The second advanced feature that we really like is the WNDR4000's Traffic Meter, which allows you to control the router's bandwidth. For example, you can set the router to disconnect from the Internet if a certain amount of data has been downloaded (or uploaded, or both) over a certain period of time. This is useful when you have a limited quota and don't want to go over. Unfortunately, the Traffic Meter doesn't offer bandwidth control for individual computers, so you can't use it to restrict one individual in a network from downloading too much.

Like the WNR2000, the WNDR4000 comes with a handy feature called Live Parental Controls. To use this, you first need to install the Netgear Live Parent Control software (which is on the included CD). This guides you through the steps of setting up a free online account with OpenDNS and setting the overall Web filter level to your choice of high, moderate, low, minimum, or none. After that, you no longer need the software. From anywhere in the world, you can now go to the Parental Controls Center site, log in with the account you just created, and further customize the router's Web filtering feature. For parents who are on the go a lot, this is a nice way to have some control over the Internet access of those at home.

As with most routers from Netgear, the WNDR4000's Web interface is generally well-organized and responsive, making managing the router an easy job. The router also has many other features found in most wireless routers such as Content Filtering, which lets you block certain Web sites and services, port forwarding, Quality of Service, and Universal Plug and Play.

For security, the router supports all existing wireless-encryption methods including WEP, WPA, and WPA2. As mentioned above, it also comes with Wi-Fi Protected Setup so you can add a new client to the network by pressing a button, instead of having to type in the encryption key.

Performance
Much as we liked the way the WNDR4000's network storage feature is designed, we typically aren't impressed by the performance of this feature in wireless routers with built-in network storage support. In our testing via Gigabit Ethernet, the router offered a write speed of 51.8Mbps and a read speed of just 57.6Mbps. At these speeds, the router can only power light file sharing with the connected external hard drive. For more serious network storage needs, we'd recommend a dedicated NAS server.

In its primary function as a wireless router, the WNDR4000 did much better in our testing.

In the 5GHz band, the router scored 89Mbps for close range and 63.9Mbps for long range, putting it in fourth and third place respectively among the true dual-band routers we've reviewed. Unfortunately, compared with the Linksys E4200, which scored 100.48Mbps for close range and 79.1 for long range, the WNDR4000 was still quite noticeably behind. Still, at these speeds, the Netgear can finish transmitting 500MB of data in just 45 seconds, a short time compared with most other wireless routers.

In the 2.4GHz band, the router's performance was much less consistent. It impressively topped our chart in the close-range test with 67.8Mbps. However, when we increased the range to 100 feet, the router's performance reduced to just 23.9Mbps, the biggest degradation we've seen. This means those who rely most on the 2.4GHz band for their wireless networking will be disappointed and probably experience an unstable connection as they move away from the router. In the mixed-mode test, in which the router was set to work with both Wireless-N and legacy clients at close range, it scored a decent 57.9Mbps.

The WNDR4000 offered very long range in our trials, up to 290 feet for the 5GHz band and 310 feet for the 2.4GHz band. Note however, at maximum range the throughput is very slow and is only good for very light Internet surfing. We found that the router was best used within 100 feet on the 5GHz band and about 70 feet on the 2.4GHz band.

The router passed our 48-hour stress test, during which it didn't disconnect once. Note however that the stress test was conducted within a range of just around 15 feet. Increasing the range could reduce the stability of the signal.

Service and support
Netgear backs the N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router with a standard one-year warranty. The support pages on Netgear's site are somewhat elusive (you have to click through many layers of links to find what you want) but offer lots of support information, such as troubleshooting, a knowledge base, firmware, drivers, and manual downloads.

Conclusions
We liked the Netgear N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4000) for its ease of use and good performance on the 5GHz band, but were let down by its range performance on the 2.4GHz band. Nonetheless, it would make a very good router for homes and small offices, especially those with wireless clients that support the 5GHz band.

About The Author

CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.